Ben (Samuel Bottomley) loves Lill (Lara Ricote). Everyone in their friend group knows that. Ben’s parents, Deb (Lucy Black) and Alan (John Thompson), love them both, taking Lil into their house so that Ben can work and save up money for their big move from Ben’s hometown of Leeds to London, so Lil can pursue her first job at an architecture firm — her first big job after graduating from university. Lil immediately feels at home; being with Alan and Deb has been brilliant. Alan has taught her how to bleed radiators, but the pair are really excited about their first big adventure as a couple. Alan and Deb also have big plans, selling the family home and buying a motorhome. Ben is nervous about the move; it means leaving the place he has called home. He even went to the local university so he could stay close to his family. But this move is all about the girl he loves, and he’d follow her anywhere.

Upon arriving at their flat, Ben is immediately on edge, dodging phone calls and ignoring texts. Their estate agent, Paul (SNL’s Hamed Animashaun), is there to witness Lil learn that Ben has cheated on her. Lil’s perfect existence comes crashing down. Writer and creator Jess Bray has crafted such an instantly likeable central pairing that their breakup hits hard. Lil wants to throw Ben out until they learn that they are locked into their lease agreement for six months, forcing them to stay together with Ben’s betrayal lingering all the time.

Samuel Bottomley and Lara Ricote are fantastic together. Within moments of meeting them, you can feel their time together and their warm connection. Jess Bray creates a world around the pair that feels lived-in and fresh. Ben’s decision to cheat on a beautician doesn’t just affect them but their wider friend group and Ben’s parents too! Lara Ricote is lending a lot of herself to the role. Lil, like Ricote, is Mexican American and also hard of hearing — turning off her hearing aids to escape a party in the fourth episode. She’s a ball of energy, fizzing on screen, very funny, but also able to carry the emotional weight of Ben’s betrayal. Samuel Bottomley is equally good as Ben — a man out of his depth in a place he doesn’t know, struggling to make things right.

The six episodes take a monthly structure, beginning in August when they move in and ending six months later in February as Lil and Ben navigate their unfortunate and always tricky living situation. The dialogue is sharp, with almost a rat-a-tat nature. The gags are perfectly pitched, and every side character gets their moment to shine. Lil is far from home, but the pair’s university friends are family. Kira (Assa Kanoute) is the one she turns to for advice; Nic (Tamika Bennett) is her fierce protector, and Liam (Jack Shep) is always there for a gossip. When they learn of Ben’s cheating, they stick by Lill. It’s Ben’s parents who take the news hardest. Deb is loving life in the motorhome, but Alan misses a bath! As someone sadly closer in age to the parents than the friend group, I appreciated how Deb and Alan were seen as one of the group and not the embarrassing parents that this kind of show would often paint em as. You could see they’d given their son a stable life, and their love for Lil was clear too, which felt like a welcome change from parents being the villains in this sort of show.

Ben and Lil, stuck together, do try to move on. Ben gets close with neighbour and eventual co-worker Frances (Charly Clive), and Lil flirts with her co-worker Kas (Michael Workéyè), even if she doesn’t quite appreciate how much he likes her. Even though Lil is deeply hurt, she and Ben do feel like they are meant to be together. Their relationship has never faced this kind of test before.

Ben worries he’s a bad person, asking a vicar (a scene-stealing turn from Jessica Knappett) if people are ‘born bad ‘. She reassures him quickly before asking if her earrings are “too jazzy” for the funeral she’s about to perform. The series perfectly captures a time in your life when you feel the most uncertain. School is over, and you are expected to go headlong into the world of work and relationships without a ton of life experience in either.

Like all the best, will they won’t theys there’s a yearning for the two to come back to each other, but in truth, they are still working out who they are and whether they do belong together. In a deeply moving scene, Ben finds himself sleeping with his parents in their motorhome. He asks his dad (the always fantastic John Thompson) how he knew his mum was the one. To Ben’s surprise, his dad tells him he wasn’t sure that she was and that they broke up shortly before he was born. Alan, who up until this point is a character for more comic relief, taking a bath at an unfortunate moment, or accidentally eating chocolate mushrooms, tells his son that people are many different things and that you have to love all those differences. It’s a beautifully tender scene that appears to solidify things for Ben. It’s a scene that exemplifies the show at its very best, sweet-natured and natural, but quickly interrupted by Deb’s white noise machine!.

Break Clause is a romantic comedy with more to say. Fresh, exciting, really funny, unpredictable and with performances you’ll instantly fall for, it’s the kind of contemporary comedy Channel 4 should be making more of. I just want to spend more time with these people.

Break Clause is available from Thursday 1st October on Channel 4.